Symbolic Capitals: Visual Discourse and Intercultural Exchange in the European Capital of Culture Scheme

In multilingual Europe, visual discourse may function as a cross-culturally strategic form of communication, thanks in part to its perceptual and iconic availability. In this regard, we offer a social semiotic critique of a range of visual resources deployed in the official promotional texts of 30 of the 43 cities either nominated or competing for the title of "European Capital of Culture" between 2005 and 2011. In considering the political/cultural/economic ideologies that underpin the production of a supposedly pan-European identity, we also show how these branding exercises manage local/global tensions by exploiting the intercultural meaning potentials of visual discourse. (Contains 4 notes and 9 figures.)